Zambia has dismissed fears of an ongoing health crisis following a toxic spill at a Chinese-owned copper mine, despite the United States ordering its personnel to leave the country’s second-largest city over contamination concerns.
In February, a waste dam at Sino-Metals Leach Zambia Ltd., a local subsidiary of China Nonferrous Mining Co., collapsed, releasing an estimated 50 million litres (13 million gallons) of toxic sludge into a tributary of the Zambezi River.
The spill destroyed crops along riverbanks, wiped out aquatic life, and was described by Bloomberg as one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of Africa’s second-largest copper producer.
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According to a U.S. health alert, the acid spill contaminated water and soil around the town of Chambishi, where the plant operates, and the pollutants could also become airborne.
The Zambian government, however, insists the situation is now stable.
“The immediate danger to human, animal and plant life has been averted as we speak today.
All serious implications on public health, water safety, agriculture and the environment have been brought under control.
There is therefore no cause for alarm,” Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa told reporters on Thursday.
Mweetwa said tests showed pH levels in the affected waters had returned to normal and heavy metal concentrations were falling.
He also confirmed that Sino-Metals had paid a fine of 1.5 million kwacha (about $65,000) and started distributing an additional 14 million kwacha (around $600,000) in interim compensation to affected farmers.
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Image Credit: The Associated Press
